Collapsible box.



G. F. GALLERY.

COLLAPSIBLE BOX.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.27.|911. RENEWED MAR. 22. |915.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

Y 2 SHEETS-SHEETl @WwW/2f' mimi] Il GTFTCA'LERY.

COLLAPSIBLE BOX.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.27. 1911. RENEWED MAR.22,1915.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

2 .SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@Za/@w GEORGE F. GALLERY, 0I? CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO FREDERICK C. CROFTS AND ONE-THIRD TO NICHOLAS Gr. IBEHLES, OF- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COLLAPSIBLE BOX.`

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

Application filed January 27, 1911,-Seria1 No. 664,945. Renewed March 22, 1915. Serial No. 16,265.

To all whom it may concern.

Be itknown that I, GEORGE F. GALLERY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to boxes and like receptacles, and the primary object of the invention is to produce a box or receptacle that will be light,l strong and durable, ,and at the same time composed of relatively cheap material and constructed so that it can be cheaply manufactured.

The invention contemplates a construction which may be made largely of heavy paper, fiber boardor the like, and yet will be strong and firm enough to stand the rough usage incidental to shipping.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction applicable to either setup or collapsible boxes.

Still another object is to provide a box 'which will be dust and water proof when nally closed, and which will comply with the requirements of transportationv companies concerning shipping boxes and like receptacles.v

The specic character of the invention will be best understood upon reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, and its scope will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 of the drawing is a perspective view of a box constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the upper portion of the same,

the section being taken on a plane indicated by the line 2-2of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a horizontal transverse section of the same, taken on a plane indicated by the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. i is an end elevation of a modified form of head or end; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of thebox illustrated in Fig. 1, in its collapsible form; Fig. 6 is a transverse section of the closure by which the box is finally closed; and Fig. 7 is a vertical section of the vindicated by the line 7-7 of that figure.

end of the box of Fig. 1, taken on a plane sions. In Fig.. 1, 'it is shown applied to a packing box of common size and shape. In such a box, the ends, or heads, as I preferably term them, are in this instance composed of an outer frame of wood or like material and an inner panel of some lighter fibrous material, such as paper, fiber board or pulp board. The wood frame comprises two horizontalmembers 10, 11, and two vertical members 12, 13. These members are grooved on their inner edges, as clearly illustrated at 14 and 15 in Figs. 3 and 7, respectively. Into these grooves, the panel 16 of ber boardis fitted as the members 10, 11, 1 2 and 13 are assembled. Theseseveral parts, which constitute the head, are held together in any suitable way. This is preferably done by staples or wire stitching, indicated at 17, the wire of the staples or stitching passing through the fiber board and the adjacent portion of the wood members. The

edges of wood which extend throughout lts periphery. This outer peripheral edge is grooved, as indicated at 18 Figs. 2, 3, 5 and 7.

The sides of the box or receptacle are composed of one or Vmore sheets of suitable materia-l, such as heavy paper, fiber board or pulp boa-rd, provided at their ends withflanges which are adapted to be inserted into the outer grooves 18 of the heads and to be secured therein in any suitable manner. In Fig. 5, the sides are composed of two such sheets of fibrous material. Eachof these sheets is creased so as to provide a central portion 19 and two outer portions 20 and 21, and each of these portions is provided at its end-s with anges 22. In order to enable thesesheets to be bent at their creases when fitting the flanges 22 into the outer groove shown in Fig. 5, the flanges 22 of the central portions of these sheets are shown secured in place in the groove 18. Preferably this is done by stapling or stitching 24, but obviously, they might be secured in many other ways. lVith the parts assembled in the Way illustrated in Fig. 5, the box or receptacle is collapsible and when the sides of ber board are pressed together, the heads or ends will lie compactly against them and many boxes may be stacked together for shipment or for storage until it is desired to set them up.

When the box is to be set up, one pair of the laps or outer portions, as, for example, the laps 21, are turned over toward each other and their flanges 22 are inserted in the adjacent portion of the groove 18. The size of these laps is such that when this is done, there is a space or opening left between their adjacent edges which extends from head to head of the box. This space may be closed by means of such a closure as that illustrated in Fig. 6. This closure consists of an outer strip 25 and of an inner strip 26, preferably, though not necessarily, of the same material as the sides. Said strips might be made of sheet metal, Wood or other material. Thesestrips are secured together along their center line by stitching 27,or other suitable means.

In placing the closure in position, one edge of the inner strip 26 may be slipped under the edge of one lap 21 and the other edge of the strip 26 may be slipped under the edge of the other lap 21. This Will leave the outer strip 25 completely spanning the space between the adjacent edges of the laps 21 on the outside,'While the inner strip 26 will span 'the same space on the inside. In order that the'closure may be secured to the heads, one of its members and preferably the outer, may be provided With flanges 28, which are adapted to fit into the adjacent portions of the grooves 18 in the heads. I'Vith the parts thus positioned, the flanges 22 and l28 may be permanently secured in the groove 18 in any suitable Way. This is preferably done by the use of nails 29 extending through the flanges and the adjacent portions of the Wood members of the head. With the laps 20 and 2l, and the associated closure, joined to the Wooden strip 11 of the heads, three sides of the box, or perhaps What might be termed two sides and the bottom in the partlcular box illustrated, are complete. The box may thenbe filled for shipping and the laps or outer portions 2O similarly brought together and into association with a second closure consisting of the strips 25 and 26. When these latter parts are finally secured in place, the box is closed and sealed for shipping and requires no further treatment.-

In order to meet the requirements of trans- 4be sufficient.

portation companies, it is not necessary to rope the box or to add other sealing means such as the tin, paper and glued seals now commonly employed.

In case the sides are composed of but a single piece of liber board or like material, the use of a single closure would, of course, It is also apparent that in providing boxes for other uses, the heads might be made lighter than illustrated in the figures We have been considering. For example, the members 12 and 13 might be omitted, as illustrated in Fig. 4. In that case, the fiber board 16a Would be of substantially the same length as the members 10 and 11. They might be secured together, as before, by a stitching or stapling 30, and the flanges of the central portions 19 of the sides Would be similarly connected to the member 16a by stapling or stitching 81. Obviously, if desired, the heads may be made of solid Wood. It is also apparent that other modiications culd be readily made Without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. The box or receptacle might be variously reinforced or strengthened to meet the requirements of the particular service for which it Was designed. It Will also be apparent that with a change of proportions. in the dimensions of the receptacle, the parts Which have been here defined as ends, orl

sides, or bottom, or' top, might be differently defined. In other Words, What might naturallyv be termed an end in one style and shape of box, might be termed a side in another, or a bottom, or a top. Accordingly, What is shown in the illustrated embodiment as an end construction, might be a side, bottom, or top construction in a differently shaped receptacle. An effort has been made, by the terms of the appended claims, to cover these various modifications.

From the above description, it Will be seen that I have produced a receptacle which is not only strong and durable, but which is so shaped that several may be readily stacked together; one in Which certain surfaces, such as the sides 19 in the embodiment illustrated, are smooth and readily available for stamping, labeling and the like; a receptacle which is practically dust and Water proof; and one in which the seal is completed in the same manner employed in securing other parts of the receptacle together,

thereby morev efliciently preventing tamper- A box or like receptacle comprising heads l having Wooden edge portions and sides of fibrous material extending from one of said heads to the other and having their ends fixed to the edges of said heads, one of said sides comprising iiaps arranged to give access to the interior of the receptacle, the ad-` jacent edges of said flaps being spaced apart .cured together along their longitudinal median line, one of said strips being'inserted at the inner side'lof said adjacent edges of said flaps, and the other strip overlying' said 10 flap edges atthe outer sides thereof, the ends of said strips being secured to said heads.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' GEORGE F. GALLERY. -Witnessesz v C. PAUL PARKER, 'Ii-L. MILLER. 

